NIAMAT vs The STATE
The petitioner sought leave to appeal against the judgment of the Lahore High Court dated 26-3-1980, which upheld his conviction under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 and altered his sentence from death to life imprisonment. The petitioner was tried along with four others for the murder of Ahmad Din, but the trial court and the High Court acquitted the co-accused, relying solely on the recovery of a blood-stained datar as corroboration to sustain the petitioner's conviction. The core legal question before the Supreme Court was whether the recovery of the weapon, which was found in an accessible place and exposed to the elements for a prolonged period, along with other alleged flaws in the investigation and chain of custody, constituted sufficient and safe corroboration to maintain the conviction. The Supreme Court held that the question of whether necessary corroboration was forthcoming required detailed examination to ensure the safe administration of criminal justice, and accordingly granted leave to appeal.
- Whether the recovery of a weapon from an accessible place exposed to weather elements can serve as sufficient corroboration for a murder conviction?
- Does the reliance on interested eye-witnesses necessitate independent and reliable corroboration to sustain a conviction under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860?
- Whether flaws in the investigation and missing links in sending a recovered weapon to the Chemical Examiner vitiate the evidentiary value of such recovery?
- Section 302, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
ORDER
SHAFI-UR-REHMAN, J.-The petitioner who was convicted of the offence under section 302, P. P. C.
And sentenced to life imprisonment seeks leave to appeal against the judgment of the Lahore High Court dated 26-3-1980.
2. The petitioner alongwith four others related to him were tried for committing the murder of - Ahmad Din at 5-30 a.m. On 24-7-1974 in village Jhugian Jhaba at a distance of four miles from the Police Station, Misri Shah in District Lahore.
3. The motive for the occurrence given out was that father of the petitioner was murdered in 1955 for which the deceased and others were implicated but finally acquitted. The petitioner was said to have used the datar in inflicting injuries which was got recovered at his instance on 15-8-1974 and found to be stained with human blood. The learned trialJudge acquitted the other four tried with the petitioner but finding corrobora--tion as against him only from the recovery of the blood- stained datar he was found to be guilty and sentenced to death.
4. The learned Judges in the High Court also considered that three` eye-witnesses produced in this case to be highly interested looked for corrobora--tion and found it in the recovery of the blood- stained datar and upheld the conviction but altered the sentence to life imprisonment in view of the fact that according to the prosecution itself the occurrence was on account of vindication of the murder of the petitioner's father which had gone unpunished.
5. The learned counsel contends that according to the prosecution case itself the recovery of datar had taken place from the roof of the to well of Inayat Ali and even the High Court has held that it was a place accessible to others. Besides, the datar had remained exposed to rain and sun from 24-7-1974 to 15-8-1974 when the recovery was effected. The recover witnesses were the same interested witnesses who bad not been believed totally. The Investigating Officer who alone was believed by the High Court was held by the trial Court not to have conducted the investigation honestly and fairly. The datar itself was kept at the Police Station long after the recovery and the connecting evidence of its having been sent to the Chemical Examiner was not brought on the record. It is said that such corroboration could be of no avail to the prosecution and the evident, which was considered insufficient as against the other co-accused should have been held so against the petitioner as well.
6. We find that the question whether the necessary corroboration was at all forthcoming is one, which does require examination of this Court in order to ensure safe administration of Criminal Justice. Leave is, therefore, granted.